Agenda - 09-13-2011 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ATTACHMENT 7 102 VU TwurceaflyvKV0111109 TO: Orange County Board of Commissioners FROM: David Hunt, Orange County Clerk's Office Frank Montes de Oca; Orange County Emergency Services DATE: September 8, 2011 RE: Updates on Communications Support for Local Fire Departments At the Board's June 9, 2011 budget work session discussion occurred- regarding the County providing- assistance to fire departments with public outreach. Staff from several County departments have since met and- initially discussed the multitude -of variables involved with this effort. At the Board's August 23, 2011 regular meeting, some of_the following items were presented for consideration as possible methods of communication. The primary concern of the several of the Board members appeared to be how the fire departments shared information with the residents within their respective fire districts, especially as related to requesting an increase in the district fire tax. Representatives from several of the fire departments stated that among other methods, they held annual business meetings which were publicly advertised and open to -the community. Communication methods offered by Orange County would supplement communication tools and methods currently used by the fire departments to connect with their residents in their respective districts. All of the fire departments independently maintain a website and/or a Facebook page. Current and potential methods for communications include: • Orange County Emergency Services web page is currently listing announcements for emergency partners; • Orange County offers to host media/marketing training for designated fire department members; • Research is underway with Emergency Services and Information Technologies Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to include and display fire department Insurance Services Office (ISO) ratings and fire district tax rate. Please be aware that the communication strategy listed above does not take into consideration the current communication priorities of Orange County Government.